Mental health assessment scheme being rolled out to Black Countries

An emergency response scheme is said to soon find its way into black countries. This will be offering on-the-spot assessments for people suspected of being mentally unwell.

The crew made up of psychiatric nurses and paramedics are to see to the mental ill health of people in Birmingham, Solihull and over black nations. Of which they’ve already dealt with almost 2,000 people since the start of the year with only 227 being detained.

As explained by Chief Inspector Sean Russel, who held the team:

Around 20 per cent of police demand is due to mental health issues. In the past we’ve not worked alongside agencies like the ambulance service and mental health providers. It has meant too many people ending up in police custody and essentially being criminalised for being unwell. It’s also meant many hours of police time have been wasted. This scheme is a cultural shift; we share more information and work closely together.

It’s led to marked improvements in the treatment given to members of the public who need our help, a significant cut in the use of police stations as places of safety to almost zero, and a reduction in demand on the police and the healthcare system. I’m confident the triage scheme will prove as successful in Coventry and the Black Country as it’s been in Birmingham and Solihull.

I am keen to see the continuation of this work which was highly supported by my predecessor the late Bob Jones. These Mental Health Triage schemes are proving to be beneficial in enhancing the long term safety of the public in a cost effective way.